Torrico

Name: Steve Torrico Age: 40. Residence: Mount Dora Education: "After graduating from high school, I went right to work on the railroad." Occupation: Co-owner of the Mount Dora Scenic Railway Co., a division of the Mount Dora, Tavares and Eustis Railroad Co. Recently purchased the Edwards rail car name and operates a business that builds vintage rail cars under that name. The best thing about my job is: "Seeing the happy people enjoying the train." The worst thing about my job is: "Not living up to my own expectations."

He's 27 years old and he carries an authentic 1926 driver's license that ''allows'' him to drive the 1928 Dodge that he parks in a garage behind his house -- built, of course, in the 1920s.You might say Steven Torrico is living in the past.''The best 10 years this country has ever seen,'' said Torrico, dressed in maroon ''plus-fours,'' the stylish knickers of the 1920s that hang four inches below the knee. ''All the major talent of this century -- George Gershwin, Bing Crosby -- came into being in the 1920s.

MOUNT DORA -- After a bit of a rough ride, plans for the expanded use of the Mount Dora Cannonball appear to be back on track. Steve Torrico, owner and operator of the Mount Dora Scenic Railway Co., has big plans for his vintage steam engine. This year, the Cannonball's weekend runs will begin including stops in Tavares' Wooton Park. The service will allow passengers to board in either Mount Dora or Tavares, get off in either town after the half-hour, one-way trip and then reboard a later train for the return trip.

Steve Torrico likes to dream, and usually his dreams involve vintage, self-propelled rail cars that look old but run like new. Torrico has parlayed the Mount Dora, Tavares and Eustis Railroad Co., into a successful tourist railroad operation with the charming Dora Doodlebug, for example. He is trying to expand with a regular tourist rail operation between Mount Dora and Orlando using a similar train. Now Torrico thinks his related business, building Edwards Gasoline Rail Cars, might be the answer to regular commuter rail service between Lake County and Orlando.

MOUNT DORA -- When Steve Torrico opened the Mount Dora, Tavares & Eustis Railway five years ago, the business operated only the Dora Doodlebug. The remodeled 1928 self-propelled railway motor car is again at the center of Torrico's plans -- this time reconfigured as the 24-seat Orange Blossom Dinner Train. The Mount Dora & Eustis Railway will feature weekend dinner runs to Lake Jem with food catered by The Gables Restaurant. Another train, the M55, will assume the name and original role of the Dora Doodlebug, retracing the eight-mile round trip between a wooded area east of town and the Golden Triangle Shopping Center.

REGARDING THE current Washington mess:Welcome to the ``way-more-than-we-need-to-know-Information Age!''Few people seem to be embarrassed or feel shame about any kind of behavior anymore.This lack of shame - what a shame!Susan Torrico ORLANDO

MOUNT DORA -- When Steve Torrico opened the Mount Dora, Tavares & Eustis Railway five years ago, the business operated only the Dora Doodlebug. The remodeled 1928 self-propelled railway motor car is again at the center of Torrico's plans -- this time reconfigured as the 24-seat Orange Blossom Dinner Train. The Mount Dora & Eustis Railway will feature weekend dinner runs to Lake Jem with food catered by The Gables Restaurant. Another train, the M55, will assume the name and original role of the Dora Doodlebug, retracing the eight-mile round trip between a wooded area east of town and the Golden Triangle Shopping Center.

MOUNT DORA -- Conductors will again call "All aboard!" in October if plans for the new Mount Dora & Lake Eustis Railway stay on track. Serving as general manager will be Steve Torrico, who brought tourist-line railroading to town five years ago. Then, the Mount Dora, Tavares & Eustis Railway opened in October operating the Dora Doodlebug, a restored vintage railway motor car. Now, the MD&LE line will toot its horn Oct. 1, operating two Doodlebugs....

MOUNT DORA -- The sleek, jet-black locomotive looks as if it should be hurtling through the night, letting loose a lonely wail as it passes. But for at least the next week, the Mount Dora Cannonball -- one of two trains operated by Mount Dora Scenic Railway -- isn't going anywhere. Financial woes have chained it to the track. Literally. The train is bound to the track by a thick brass chain run through one of the steam engine's mammoth wheels. Steve Torrico, Mount Dora Scenic Railway president, said it is only a temporary measure to appease the train's owners while he renegotiates the lease.

MOUNT DORA -- Lake County residents wanting to enjoy one last fun summer activity might consider riding the rails to Orlando and back on the Mount Dora Cannonball. The Baldwin 2-6-2 oil-fired steam engine, pulling four cars, will leave its home in downtown Mount Dora at 10 a.m. Monday, which is Labor Day. The train will arrive at Church Street Station in Orlando about 1 p.m., said Steve Torrico, president of the Mount Dora Scenic Railway. The railway owns the Cannonball and the Dora Doodlebug, a motorized train car. Passengers will disembark for lunch at the Cheyenne Saloon in Church Street Station, which is included in ticket prices of $50 for adults and $25 for those younger than 12. At 3 p.m. the train will leave Orlando and arrive in Mount Dora around 6:30 p.m. This is the second year the Cannonball has made the Labor Day trip.

There's nothing like the marvels of 19th-century technology if you live in the shadow of Kennedy Space Center. Consider the Mount Dora Cannonball, which traveled from a makeshift train station in Forest City to Tavares for Independence Day fireworks. The train sold out quickly, leaving hundreds disappointed when they called for reservations. About 75 people showed up anyway, hoping to fill the seats of no-shows. "It was wildly successful," said Steve Torrico, president of the Mount Dora, Tavares and Eustis Railroad.

Mount Dora Cannonball engineer Steve Torrico has denied talk that his Mount Dora Scenic Railway is nearing the end of the line. "There's absolutely no foundation to any rumors our railroad is shutting down," Torrico said last week, adding that his operation is paying creditors and meeting payroll. Torrico acknowledged, however, that his business has been forced to operate its costly steam-train excursion "as efficiently as we can and maximize revenue as best we can." "Operating an 80-year-old steam locomotive has been a little more expensive than we thought," said Torrico, who threatened to take his business out of Mount Dora several weeks ago because he thought he wasn't getting support from downtown merchants.

MOUNT DORA -- After a bit of a rough ride, plans for the expanded use of the Mount Dora Cannonball appear to be back on track. Steve Torrico, owner and operator of the Mount Dora Scenic Railway Co., has big plans for his vintage steam engine. This year, the Cannonball's weekend runs will begin including stops in Tavares' Wooton Park. The service will allow passengers to board in either Mount Dora or Tavares, get off in either town after the half-hour, one-way trip and then reboard a later train for the return trip.